Section: New Results

Pressure dependence of friction modulation in ultrasonic devices

Wael Ben Messaoud, Eric Vezzoli, Frédéric Giraud, Betty Lemaire-Semail

Ultrasonic vibrating devices are able to modulate the friction of a finger sliding on them. The underlying principles of the friction reduction are still unclear, and this work is carried out to investigate the influence of the ambient pressure on the friction modulation. A specific tactile stimulator has been used for this purpose and the friction between the finger sliding on the device has been recorded for an ambient pressure of 0.5 and 1 atm showing a significant difference for comparable experimental conditions. A comparison with the model proposed in literature is performed underlying that the squeeze film interaction can be present but not the only responsible of the friction modulation in this kind of devices.